Glasshouse

starlight09

Hi,

We are planning on building a glasshouse, using a few rows of cement blocks then using double glazed windows all around, on the roof, glass or clear corrugated sheeting. I would appreciate advice on this as I would like to grow annual flowers, for example, petunias, pansies, marigolds etc.

I have successfully grown seeds with the last few years using a propagator but they are never ready for the start of the season.

If I start my seeds in February would I need a heater in the glasshouse.
Advice welcome.

Foghladh

Are you planning to build it out of materials you have to hand? Double glazing is a little extreme otherwise and unless you double glaze the roof it won't achieve much since the heat will just escape up through the roof. Plus double glazing is pretty heavy. I don't mean to sound smart in this by the by I've got a few double glazed sample windows around the place myself and I've tried to use them in a few things. I ended up with a cloche that weighs a ton and I'm afraid to stick my hand in, in case it falls on it! If it's a new build scenario and it's for propagating plants I'd imagine you'd be better going for a small poly-carbonate greenhouse. I have one myself for seedlings and tomatoes during the summer and they're pretty good for the smaller stuff.

sponge_bob

nothing wrong with using double glazing on the sides, but it would be pretty heavy on the roof. and if you are going to put a flat roof on it then you have to take into account a foot of snow also which would be pretty heavy and need some good support to hold it all up.

i built my own green house lately and used single glaing window units that i salvaged from a skip, i used polycarbonate sheeting for safety reasons. it was pretty expensive think it was €2.80 a foot and it covers 2' wide, i could have gotten cheaper stuff for about €1.50 a foot but it becomes brittle afetr a few years. if you really want to push out the boat then duggan steel in killkenny have really tough stuff that you could nearly walk on for $5.50 per foot + VAT and it covers a meter wide and they will cut it off at the exact length that you need. they would also have foam strips that are the same profile as the sheeting so that it would form a good airtight seal around the edges, it is also 1.3mm thick polycarbonate which i would presume would be better insulation than the .5mm stuff i used.

starlight09

Thanks for all the help and suggestions,
I have 2 cold-frames, homemade. These I find so handy for hardening off young plants but now I dream of a glasshouse. I just simply love raising seeds, I find it very therapeutic

johngalway

sponge_bob wrote: »

nothing wrong with using double glazing on the sides, but it would be pretty heavy on the roof. and if you are going to put a flat roof on it then you have to take into account a foot of snow also which would be pretty heavy and need some good support to hold it all up.

i built my own green house lately and used single glaing window units that i salvaged from a skip, i used polycarbonate sheeting for safety reasons. it was pretty expensive think it was €2.80 a foot and it covers 2' wide, i could have gotten cheaper stuff for about €1.50 a foot but it becomes brittle afetr a few years. if you really want to push out the boat then duggan steel in killkenny have really tough stuff that you could nearly walk on for $5.50 per foot + VAT and it covers a meter wide and they will cut it off at the exact length that you need. they would also have foam strips that are the same profile as the sheeting so that it would form a good airtight seal around the edges, it is also 1.3mm thick polycarbonate which i would presume would be better insulation than the .5mm stuff i used.

Hi SB,

Do you mind me asking what kind of job or work was being done that needed that skip, wouldn't mind finding some of that myself

wait4me

sponge_bob wrote: »

i built my own green house lately and used single glaing window units that i salvaged from a skip,

And pretty impressive it is too!
For those who have not seen it, it's here: Sponge Bobs greenhouse

starlight09

wait for me, thanks for the link. Spongebob thats some glasshouse, thank you for all the info and the very best with all your plants.

sponge_bob

johngalway wrote: »

Hi SB,

Do you mind me asking what kind of job or work was being done that needed that skip, wouldn't mind finding some of that myself

it was just some guy cleaning out his shed, and he had gotten them some years earlier to do tha exact same thing as done with them, but just never got around to it. i got tipped off that he had put them in the skip so just approached him andasked him for them. luckily he hadn't broken them and i was able to salvage about 20 of them.:D

johngalway

sponge_bob wrote: »

it was just some guy cleaning out his shed, and he had gotten them some years earlier to do tha exact same thing as done with them, but just never got around to it. i got tipped off that he had put them in the skip so just approached him andasked him for them. luckily he hadn't broken them and i was able to salvage about 20 of them.:D

Yeah I read it on the other thread above there, nice find